Into Oblivion

“…die in Australia, for Australia”

Comment attributed to Leichhardt by John F Mann, 30 April 1847 in Eight Months with Dr Leichhardt

In 1846/47 Leichhardt set out on his first attempt to cross Australia from Moreton Bay, Queensland, to the Swan River in Western Australia. His purpose was to explore the heart of the country, including Sturt’s Stony Desert as well as the west and north west coasts, and to note the change in flora and fauna as he crossed from east to west. Both this and his second expedition in 1848 failed.

On 4 April 1848 Leichhardt wrote from Mount Abundance to the editors of the Sydney Morning Herald. This was his last letter before he and his party headed into oblivion. Added to the enormity of crossing from one side of the continent to the other, there was also the logistics of mounting such an expedition. Apart from the seven known members and their personal gear, there were 77 head of livestock, saddlery and other horse gear, navigational equipment, cutlery, crockery and kitchen equipment, as well as firearms and gunpowder – the list goes on.

There have been many theories about the fate of the explorers: they died of thirst, starvation or disease; they drowned in a flash flood; they were murdered by Aboriginal tribal groups; or even the bizzare conspiracy theory that they were murdered by the British Government. Despite endless speculation and numerous searches, the fate of Leichhardt and his party remains a mystery.